Le Quatorze Juillet

WED 14 JUL 1943
Pacific
Naval Operating Base, Adak, Aleutians, is established.

Destroyer Monaghan (DD-354) bombards Japanese positions at Gertrude Cove, Kiska Island, Aleutians. She repeats the bombardment on 15 July. On neither occasion do enemy guns reply.

Japanese reconnaissance planes sight small seaplane tender Chincoteague (AVP-24) as she tends patrol planes at Saboe Bay, Vanikoro (see 16 and 17 July 1943).

Japanese submarine I-179 sinks, accidentally, off Akizaki, Japan, 33°40'N, 132°40'N.

Indian Ocean
Third group of survivors of freighter Sebastian Cermeno, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-511 on 27 June 1943, is located by U.S. freighter Theodore Parker and taken to Durban, South Africa (see 23 and 27 July 1943).

U.S. freighter Robert Bacon is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-178 35 miles off Mozambique Light, 15°25'S, 41°13'E. U-178 surfaces after sinking the ship, questions the survivors, provides them with directions to the nearest land and then retires. Two of the 44-man merchant complement perish in the attack, but the 27-man Armed Guard survives intact (see 16, 27 and 28 July, 3 and 27 August 1943).

Atlantic
TBF and F4F (VC 29) from escort carrier Santee (CVE-29) sink German submarine U-160 south of Azores, 34°02'N, 26°02'W.

Mediterranean
Tank landing craft LCT-19 is sunk by aircraft off Salerno, Italy.

Light cruiser Brooklyn (CL-40) is damaged by mine off Licata, Sicily, 36°57'N, 14°06'E.